CMC beats expectations

Given the incoming regulatory restrictions on the marketing and sale of spread betting products, CMC Markets' (CMCX) strategy of increasing the proportion of professional and high-value clients seems sensible. The contracts for difference (CFD) provider grew the proportion of premium clients – who had an average transactional value of £30,000 in 2018 – to 10 per cent of the active total last year. The value of institutional trades also increased by half, pushing up revenue from this segment to £31m.